Freemasonry at its Best!
"Angel Mail" Update - January 25th
2007
Dear friend of the Masonic Angel Fund,
The winter series of St. Andrew Benevolence Builder Grants concluded today when
the funds allocated for this series were full expended.
We are proud of the dozens of "Masonic Angels" who have been so proactive with
their benevolent outreach this year. Many of the recipients of BBG funds are
Lodges that were just starting their Masonic Angel Funds. These replenishment
grants played a big part in advancing the new MAF's towards success.
Most significantly, the BBG program required Masonic Angel Funds to "give money
to get money". We find this is a far more effective motivator than traditional
matching grants - which, in theory, permit MAF's to accumulate money without
regard to how much they expend to help children in need. Benevolence Builders
replenish local MAF accounts after a benevolence is conferred. Each local MAF is
responsible for its own success. The BBG program rewards "successful" Masonic
Angel Funds based on what they are actually doing to help children in need.
It is pleasing to see that the BBG program actually inspired Masonic Angel Funds
to "do more" rather than "do the same". This is exactly what The Lodge of St.
Andrew and the Masonic Angel Foundation desired! We wanted to set the bar a
little higher, knowing that those running local Masonic Angel Funds tend to set
the bar higher for themselves as Masons. BBG is very much a "challenge program"
and our constituent MAF trustees rose to the challenge splendidly!
Those who received BBG grants are aware that the checks were issued within one
business day of the Foundation's receiving an emailed or telephoned request. We
felt that, since the monies were replenishing expended funds, it was vital that
the Foundation get a check out to the constituent MAF right away - so that they
could put that money to work immediately.
That represents a tremendous amount of work for someone.
That "someone" is Lorrimer Armstrong, Jr., the volunteer chief financial officer
of the Masonic Angel Foundation. Each time an application for BBG funds came
across my computer screen, I immediately emailed the salient information to
Lorrimer. In turn, Lorry literally dropped everything to work with me to qualify
each applicant. After he printed the necessary documents and issued the check,
Bro. Armstrong drove right over to his post office. There were many days when he
made more than one or two trips!
This whole project exemplifies the term "Freemasonry at Its Best". The Lodge of
St. Andrew was generous in funding the BBG program. The local Masonic Angel
Funds did outstanding outreach work, they communicated their requests
efficiently to the Foundation, Foundation volunteers re-organized their lives
around instantaneous BBG processing and then the local MAF trustees went right
out and used that money to help still more children in need!
We thank everyone involved for their exemplary work on this program.
Regards to all,
Robert W. Fellows
Co-Founder/Managing Director
Masonic Angel Foundation, Inc.